Vietnam attracts 16 pct more foreign tourists
18:25 04/03/2009

      Vietnam welcomed 343,000 foreign visitors in July, which took the number of international arrivals this year to 2.46 million, up 16.2 percent year-on-year, the General Statistics Office said.

In the seven-month period the number of tourists surged by 27.5 percent to over 1.54 million and that of business visitors by 11. 5 percent to 357,700.

China was Vietnam's biggest tourism market with nearly 320,500 visitors, followed by South Korea with 296,000, the US with 259,600, Japan with 237,300, Taiwan with some 184,000, and Australia with 132,000.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism also reported strong tour­ism growth with revenues of over VND11.9 trillion (US$741 million) up 36 percent year-on-year.

The city welcomed 1.45 million foreign tourists, including 165,000 in July.

The GSO said the rise was owed to the government's recent policies to bolster tourism.

To attract more foreign visitors, it is intensifying investment in promotions abroad, personnel training, especially tourist guides, and tourism infrastructure development nationwide.

The country is tapping traditional markets like China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe.

Last month the Viet­nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT)'s deputy head Pham Tu called for focus on attracting foreign visitors by land and sea.

The country plans to hold many large festivals and attend international exhibitions abroad to sell its image.

Vietnam expected 4.2-4.4 million foreign visitors and 18.5 million domestic visitors, and revenues from tourism of $2.5 billion this year, the VNAT said.

The targets for 2010 were 5.5-6 million international arrivals and 25-26 million domestic visitors, and revenues of $4-4.5 billion.

Source: TTXVN, GSO – Compiled by Thu Thuy

Source : thanhniennews.com